Ottawa County business owner Joe Fairbairn faces charge

Friday

May 30, 2014 at 5:25 PMMay 30, 2014 at 5:25 PM

By Becky VargoThe Grand Haven Tribune

A Ferrysburg businessman arrested after police surrounded his house is now free on a personal recognizance bond.Joe Fairbairn, 44, 16187 Suffolk Drive, demanded a preliminary exam when arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Ottawa County District Court on a felony charge of obstructing police.A preliminary hearing with the attorneys was set for June 3. Magistrate Vernon Helder entered a not guilty plea for Fairbairn and set bond at $5,000 personal recognizance.Police from three agencies responded shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday to the manís Harbor Point home off West Spring Lake Road on a father/son domestic situation with a threat of use of a gun.Two of Fairbairnís sons were inside the house, but left when their father allegedly went to retrieve a gun, said Sgt. Curt Theune of the Spring Lake/Ferrysburg Police Department.Neighbors were advised to retreat inside their homes, and access to the neighborhood was blocked as police with assault rifles surrounded the home.Fairbairn, who is the owner of the recently opened Joeís Wooden Nickel in downtown Grand Haven, exited his home after contact with Central Dispatch, police said.Police tackled him to keep him from going back inside his house when he said he wanted to get something, Theune said.Theune removed all the guns from the home and said Fairbairn was being arrested for felonious assault. He was lodged overnight at the Ottawa County Jail.Officials from the Ottawa County Prosecutorís office said Wednesday that the current charge is what the prosecutor felt was right based on the facts of the case from the police report.The charge, which also addresses assault or resistance, is punishable with a fine up to $2,000 or a prison sentence up to two years, or both.Fairbairnís attorney, Raymond Purdy, declined to comment about the case.